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'via Blog this'BY DIANNA HUNT
Two Arlington companies accused of being part of a $13 million mortgage fraud scheme in North Texas have been indicted on criminal charges.
The companies, Sierra Developers and homebuilder Genesis Homes of Texas, are accused of generating more than $400,000 from fraudulent loans in December 2004. The loans were handled by a lending company run by a mortgage broker who has since pleaded guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity and money laundering.
Prosecutor David Lobingier, who is with the economic crimes division of the Tarrant County district attorney's office, said the two companies join nearly two dozen individuals charged with participating in the multimillion-dollar scam.
Lobingier said the rare criminal indictments of corporations open the companies to possible fines of nearly $1 million or more, if convicted.
Defense attorney Jeff Kearney of Fort Worth said company officials are now trying to pull together records to untangle transactions that occurred more than seven years ago.
According to state records, the companies were led by former Arlington Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jerry Jordan, a prominent commercial real estate developer and one-time insurance agency owner who died in 2010. His son, Jeff Jordan, is now listed as president of Sierra Developers. Sierra is the parent company of Genesis, according to state records.
"Mr. Jordan had a wonderful reputation in Arlington and a fabulous career," Kearney said. "His son really has ... never been involved in the companies at all."
Anonymous letter
Seventeen defendants have been convicted in the scheme, including two who were alleged to be "straw buyers" of homes built by Genesis, Lobingier said.
The "linchpin" of the scheme, one-time mortgage broker Chekeelah Phelps, is awaiting sentencing in Tarrant County after pleading guilty to four charges. Phelps, who has since lost her broker's license, operated the scheme out of at least four companies, including one that, according to the indictment, handled two loans for Genesis and Sierra.
Officials said the scheme was uncovered after the Tarrant County district attorney's office received an anonymous letter asking authorities to look into why so many homes in Mansfield's Twin Creek subdivisions were foreclosed, vacant or for sale.
An investigation revealed that false information from straw buyers was being used to buy homes at inflated prices, with participants pocketing the proceeds.
Former FBI supervisor Brad Wheeler has been investigating the cases as a consultant to the Tarrant County district attorney's office, Lobingier said. The investigation is winding down but additional indictments are likely, he said.
False statements alleged
The corporate indictments, handed down quietly in early December, accuse Sierra Developers and Genesis Homes of providing false payoff information to the lending company for monetary gain. Sierra is accused of providing false information on a federal HUD settlement statement. Sierra and Genesis homes were the sellers in the transaction, according to officials.
Charges are pending against three other individuals who have been accused of making false statements: David James Mitchell, 47, of DeSoto; Stephen Bernard Sims, 44, of Arlington; and Gustav Tesche, 46, of McKinney.
Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084
Twitter: @DiannaHunt
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